Blogs from Stellenbosch, Western Cape, South Africa, Africa - page 3

Don't you just love public holidays!!! I arrived back in SA after 2 trips to London, to firstly pay my "stayed too long' fine and then the second trip to collect my passport, on Sunday. I was back in work Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday. Then Thursday we had a golf day, so I was out of the office all day and night at that. Then we had a long weekend. I could get used to 3 day working weeks!! Friday, once I woke up and got up, had me going to a friends who was house sitting at a property with a pool!!! We sunbaked and drank beer! hard I know. in the afternoon we walked around the corner to Lanzerac Wine estate. Bennett and I opted for the wine and chocolate pairing. We sat outside, ... read more

Returned to Stellenbosch and visited the slow market. Lots of interesting foods and some crafts. The breakfast sandwich was fabulous and of course the Belgium "timbits" were a fitting way to top off breakfast. We spent the balance of the morning doing a part of a walking tour which covers numerous points of interest in the town. Saturday afternoon was wine tasting at; Waterford Winery -- a beautiful winery in which the presentation and tasting at the facility was wonderful. They also offered a wine and chocolate pairing which was an interesting combination. Unfortunately none of the wines were to our liking but we did buy the chocolate which was very good. Somerbosch Winery -- had lunch here which was excellent, gourmet food at cafeteria pricing. The wine was good particularly the Savignon Blanc Ernie Els ... read more

Today is all about wine. Our first stop was supposed to be Table Mountain but high winds have closed the cable car so we head to the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. As we arrive at around 8:30 the skies opened up. Of course I had left the rain gear in the hotel and the umbrella on the bus. We were able to see a small part of the gardens and I especially enjoyed the beautiful Mandela Bird of Paradise hybrid but the rain came down harder and we sought shelter. We lurked outside the conservatory until it opened at 9:00. The exhibit was mainly desert plants, many looked like stone or dead trees and had developed amazing ways of coping with the lack of water. What I enjoyed most was the wonderful sculptures and the ancient bonsai. ... read more

Geo: -33.9322, 18.8586We packed our bags on Wednesday morning, checked out of our hotel, and headed out of Cape Town, heading due west to the wine region of South Africa. The largest town in this area is Stellenbosch, which is an Afrikaans stronghold and the city where the apartheid movement started and first segregation laws were passed. While only about 45 minutes from Cape Town, the geography is vastly different, and it looked a lot like Tuscany in Italy. Our friend Jeff is an admitted wine snob and aficionado, and had taken great pride in planning our two days in the Stellenbosch area. He first "got into" wine when he was studying in Cape Town and had already spent a lot of time in the area. That said, with dozens and dozens of wineries, he concentrated ... read more

Geo: -33.9322, 18.8586We woke during the night to the sound of a ferocious storm, high winds and rain battering against our guest house room. A hot breakfast of bacon and eggs was being served up downstairs, in the restaurant at our guest house at 8am. Rain still falling, we piled into the truck, bound for Stellenbosch.Our winery destination for the day was the Morgan Bay Estate. There were five wines on offer for tasting, a sparkling, a while, two reds and a dessert. They were all tasty, without being particularly incredible. From the winery, to the town, we were given time to explore the city of Stellenbosch. After lunch, Nat and I searched out the Diamond Works Jewellery store, to enquire about the possibility of repairing the ring I purchased for her there two years earlier ... read more